Elijah Cortez Wins Clarion Open; 6 Place

On the opening weekend of the season, 6 members of the Spartan Combat RTC placed at the Clarion Open.

Elijah Cortez went unbeaten in his first college open, earning the 141 pound title. He began with a 10-1 major decision over Sam Herring before a 20-5 technical fall versus Brogan Fielding of Ohio State. He pinned Danny Martinez of SIUE in the quarters before beating Carter Nogle of Air Force and AJ Rallo of Bellarmine to secure the title.

Taking third behind 4-1 performances were Isaiah Cortez (133) and Alessio Perentin (165). Perentin beat Cadet World Champ Jayden James, Ethan Birden of Ohio State and Brock Woodcock of SIUE in his first three bouts. Cortez began his day with a pair of technical falls and later topped NCAA qualifier Joey Fischer of Clarion for third. His loss was to eventual champion and nationally ranked Ben Davino of Ohio State in sudden victory.

Anthony Knox (125), Jude Correa (197) and Rocco Dellagatta (285) all went 5-1 to nab fifth. Knox won three times by technical fall and added a pin. Correa won by fall four times, including over 2025 NCAA Round of 12 wrestler Seth Shumate of Ohio State. Dellagatta earned four bonus point victories with his only setback against All-American Nick Feldman of Ohio State in a tough match.